EpiNex® wafers are manufactured using NexWafe’s breakthrough direct gas-to-wafer epitaxy process, eliminating both the slow, energy-intensive Czochralski (CZ) crystal growth and wire saw process. Unlike conventional wafers, which are sliced from ingots with high silicon losses, EpiNex® wafers are grown directly to final thickness, dramatically improving material efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Designed for seamless integration, EpiNex® wafers are fully compatible with today’s leading solar cell technologies, including HJT, TOPCon, and MWT.
#1 EpiNex®:
Proven Product Advantages
Thin & Ultra-Thin Wafers: Available in thicknesses from 150 μm down to 50 μm
- Exceptional uniformity for ultra- thin wafers for space and aerospace applications
- Tunable surface morphology for superior flatness/topology
Low Oxygen Content: Up to 40x lower than CZ wafers
- Enhances thermal stability during processing
- Reduces efficiency loss in emitter formation
- Eliminates the root cause of light-induced degradation (LID)
Precision Process Control:
- Enables engineered dopant profiles for optimized junctions
- Consistent wafer-to-wafer resistivity for high process repeatability
#2. EpiNex®:
Advanced n-type HJT Solar Cell with 24.4% efficiency on EpiNex Wafer
Lower Carbon Footprint & Resource Use
- Uses 50% less energy by eliminating energy-intensive Siemens & CZ
- Wire saw eliminated. Higher material yield as there is no kerf loss
- Reduces waste through recycling of seed wafers and exhaust gases
- Eliminates the need for a saw damage etch in the cell processing
- #1 EpiNex wafers (left) were a drop in replacement in leading HJT cell line with no process optimization required
#3. EpiNex®:
Enabling A Domestic Supply Chain
Western Equipment
- EpiNex® uses Western manufacturing equipment
Commodity Feedstock
- Uses Trichlorosilane (TCS) or Silicon Tetrachloride (STC)
- Commodity pricing of these feedstocks are stable
- Manufacturing of feedstock is co-located with EpiNex® factory
Locally Sourced Materials
- No critical material imports required
- Enables 100% domestic content compliance. No imports
Process Tunable Wafer Thickness
Ultra-thin wafers
As wafers become thinner—down to 50μm and below—they are inherently flexible. This reduces brittleness and cracking risk. This characteristic enables improved handling and opens opportunities for next-generation module solutions for PV applications in space, aerospace and vehicle integration.
Today and tomorrow
Extending the efficiency of solar cells: Next Generation Tandem Junction
Within the next decade EpiNex® wafers are on track to perfect tandem junction devices with efficiencies to 30%. Tandem junction devices benefit from the improved resistivity, quality and repeatability provided by the EpiNex® process. NexWafe has partnered with CSEM to make build 28.9% efficient tandem junctions cells.
